When switching to paperless meetings, how does a non-profit protect confidential data without compromising cost and convenience? Niall Callaghan, IT Manager, faced this challenge as he screened meeting software for Special Olympics Ireland.

“Security was the main driver, and we just needed something to bring all our data into one place and give us control over it,” explained Callaghan. Special Olympics Ireland is the national sports organisation for persons with intellectual disabilities. Their 16-member board oversees year-round trainings and competitions with over 9,000 registered athletes and 25,000 volunteers.

After years of exchanging meeting updates and files via email only, their board needed a solution that was smart, simple, and secure. Callaghan compared different platforms before choosing Convene for Special Olympics Ireland.

Organisations in 30 countries – including non-profits, banks, FTSE 100, Fortune 500, and governments – use Convene as their meeting software. “Being a charity,” said Callaghan, “it was all towards what gave the best value at the lowest price.”

For Special Olympics Ireland, whose main concern was how to keep company data and records safe, Convene’s remote data wipe proved most useful. When board members lose a gadget or leave the organisation, this feature lets administrators delete Convene data without affecting other personal files on the device.

Will paperless meetings protect Special Olympics programs and other sports associations against cybersecurity threats? Callaghan makes the case for meeting software: “Special Olympics programs have different boards, different levels of management making sure that events and programs are run correctly. A tool like Convene helps keep the sensitivity of that information safe. It’d be a massive help.”

Considering Special Olympics Ireland’s experience with Convene, he added, “We know we’ve got ourselves a great system at an amazing price. We’re the winners in this one.”

Is your non-profit ready to go paperless with a board portal? Here are the features to look for when selecting meeting software:

Multi-platform support and offline access – Join meetings and access files from any device, anytime, anywhere.

Version control – Collaborate on meeting documents. Stay informed with real-time file updates and instant notifications.

Interactive presentation tools – Enjoy a paper-like experience with annotation tools. Keep everyone on the same page with live laser pointer and page synchronisation.